We have not even reached the end of the college basketball regular season but can already start wondering about the stars of tomorrow as the best high school players in the country prepare to receive some national exposure. The McDonald’s All-American Game will take place on Tuesday in Houston, TX, and the Nike Hoop Summit will tip off on April 8th in Portland, OR. Several of this year’s college basketball super-freshmen played in last year’s McDonald’s Game including Gradey Dick (Kansas)/Keyonte George (Baylor)/Jarace Walker (Houston). Earlier this week HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Ron Holland about winning a pair of gold medals and choosing the Longhorns.
In 2021 you won a gold medal with team USA at the FIBA U-16 Americas Championship in Mexico, and in 2022 you won a gold medal at the FIBA U-17 World Cup in Spain: what did it mean to you to win a pair of gold medals? Winning a pair of medals was crazy: it was nice to represent my country even 1 time, but I was able to do so twice, and I have a chance to do it again this year. Knowing that they keep trusting me to represent not only my city and my town but my country: it just means a lot to me that they trust me with their brand and the meaning of USA Basketball. Me and the other guys are the face of the team and the fact that they are giving their all to us and want me to represent our country is just a blessing.
You received offers from several great schools including Arkansas/UCLA but signed with Texas back in November: what was the biggest factor in your decision? The biggest factor was everybody who is leaving, but also the academics. Everybody leaving means that I will get 1 of the best opportunities to go in there and prove that I can be one of the best freshmen ever. I get to put my stamp on why I should be in the NBA draft lottery sooner than later. However, my mom is really big on me being good at things besides basketball. You need to have your books right so that you know how to read a contract: you do not want anybody to be playing with your money. She trusted UT the best with the whole academic thing so I think I will be set with that.
You are part of a great recruiting class that includes AJ Johnson: what makes him such a good player? AJ is a skinny guard who can maneuver and play/guard multiple positions. He complements my game because not only does he try to score but also looks to pass: I feel like we will be a good duo going to Texas. There are other guys who have a chance to come back like Tyrese Hunter, Dylan Disu, or even Dillon Mitchell. I am sure they are not all coming back because those guys are having a great season and probably going to the league. AJ just really complements my game so I feel like we will be great together.
TCU showed the country that they still play some good football down in Texas, but do you think that it is turning into a basketball state due to all of the top-25-caliber teams such as Baylor/Houston/TCU/Texas? I think it is…but honestly I feel like Texas just does everything better than everybody else. I feel like everybody in Texas believes that, and if you do not then you have an issue. If you go down the list of who beat who and all of the names that we have: nobody does it like us!
Earlier this year your mother tweeted that you remained committed to the school even after Coach Chris Beard was suspended (and subsequently fired) after being charged with a 3rd-degree felony for family violence: what kind of relationship do you have with his replacement (Rodney Terry)? I love Coach RT and he loves me. The relationship I have with him: I can tell that he already trusts me more than he should and I really commend him for that. He has shown that he really wants me but I can tell that it is something more. It is deeper than that: I feel like he needs me and I really need him too. I love the relationship we have and I cannot wait for him to be my coach.
You are 6’8”: what position do you play now, and what position will you feel most comfortable at in college? Right now in high school I am position-less because I can guard anybody and do everything that a guard or big man can do. However, in college I feel like they are going to have me focused on being a small forward/power forward or perhaps a shooting guard. Regardless of those 3 positions, I know that I can still get down there and bang in the post but can also guard the post and defend point guards and control/handle the ball like a point guard. I shoot it at a high level and will just control my team, facilitate things, and be the leader that I am.
Last December your fellow honoree Stephon Castle scored 41 PTS before fouling out in a 4-PT loss by Newton at Red River Hoopfest: will you remind him of the final score when you face him again at the McDonald’s Game in March?! I am definitely going to talk but I do not even know what he is going to say back. He had 41 PTS so he is a very good basketball player, obviously, but we came out with the win and it was a really fun game. I did not really have as good of a game as I wanted to, but it gave my teammate KJ Lewis a chance to show why he is 1 of the top players in the country. I think he had 34 PTS that night as well: we have the kind of team where you never know whose night it will be.
In January you were named a McDonald’s All-American: what did it mean to you to receive such an outstanding honor? It meant a lot just knowing that I can showcase my talents all over the country and am able to put myself in the conversation with other great players. Knowing that I get a chance to go out there and show the world that I am one of the greatest players in the country and represent my city: it is just a whole lot of love.
How excited were you to see that your fellow 2-time gold medalist Jeremy Fears was also named a McDonald’s All-American? We talk almost every day: that dude and I have been through a lot together: from making the team USA roster to playing with and against each other in AAU and being at all of the camps. Just knowing that 1 of my brothers made it brought a whole lot of joy to me and felt really good.